The present invention relates to an applicator tool for use in attaching elastomeric loops to orthodontic tooth appliances.
Typical orthodontic hardware includes metal bands which are mounted, as by cementing, on a person's teeth. Each band has a bracket which receives an archwire used in transmitting desired position-correcting forces. The archwire is fastened to each bracket by a ligature that passes around the archwire and bracket. In recent years, elastomeric loops have become a popular type of ligature for such fastening.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an applicator tool which facilitates dispensing and attaching such elastomeric loops, in a loop-by-loop manner, to a series of tooth appliances.
A more particular object of the invention is to provide such an applicator tool for dispensing and clamping sequentially the end-loops in a stack of loops held on the tool.
The applicator tool of the invention includes a pair of pivotal clamping arms having a pair of loop-gripping tips for clamping an orthodontic loop in a manner permitting attachment of the clamped loop to a tooth appliance. One of the arms is adapted for holding a stack of loops for sliding of successive end loops in a downstream direction, i.e., toward the tip of the arm. A loop-feed claw mounted on the other arm is adapted first to climb over and then to engage the upstream side of an end loop in the stack when the arms are opened, and to place the engaged end loop in a position for clamping when the arms are closed.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention is read in connection with the accompanying drawings.